Firefoxx

Look for the icon in the system tray. Should be a green guy. Right-click on it, and choose exit. Either that or open it up, open the menu, and choose exit.

On a side note, anybody (on anything other than True) able to use WinMX on your ISP? With True, I can't even connect to the servers. I'd really like to know which ISP works without having to subscribe and experiment myself.

Before anyone says anything, the official WinMX servers were taken down some time ago, but there are now servers run by 3rd parties, and so it still works (using some tweaked clients).

Actually pretty much all modern TVs have the bilingual/stereo thing (except of course for things like 14" mono-aural CRTs).

I don't recall being able to re-arrange channels with the analog cable system. Digital, yes, but not analog. I have no idea how good the digital cable is, but I am pretty certain that my analog cable (on LCD TV) looks better than the digital satellite (again, on LCD TV) my friend has.

Sounds interesting that there is actually some action concerning DVB. Thing is, pretty much no TVs are being sold in Thailand that have DVB receivers (or any type of digital or HD receiver for that matter). Will probably have to depend on mobile devices, like the PSP, phones, gadgets, and such to watch it if it ever actually gets implemented. With basically nobody able to actually view the content, there won't be much scrambling to get it in the air.

Laptops have very slow harddisks compared to desktops. Therefore, if the OS has to use the harddisk as RAM when there isn't enough RAM, then the system will slow down considerably. So, yes, adding RAM will help speed up laptop quite a bit.

Most laptops have only two RAM slots, one of which is usually taken up (in your case, with one 512MB module). The biggest RAM that most laptops can take per slot is usually 1GB, so unless you want to throw away your old 512MB, you can get maximum 1.5GB, which is actually good enough.

Yes, take your laptop to the store and have them install the new module and test it out. It should cost around 1,000 baht per gigabyte. "Hardware House" usually has good prices on memory, and is located in nearly every IT center.

Are you sure about those numbers? They seem to be a bit higher than what I'm used to, and higher than what I've seen from reviews of the printers. Also, I really meant cheap in that they were cheap compared to other brands, and quite a bit cheaper than buying a new print head when your 3rd party inks clog the heads because you don't use them every day. But, YMMV, since I'd rather not get into another argument about ink tanks vs originals.

It's still cheaper to have your stuff printed at the shop, but I really prefer to not have to go to the shop, spend time there, go home, go back to the shop to pick up the photos, and not be happy with the way the prints turned out. Again, YMMV.

Thing is, with True's lines, it is hit and miss. It's hard to get a good indicator of the speeds, since it fluctuates on a random basis. If it were to fluctuate based on working hours and such, that would be predictable, but for my line, it may be miserable for days, then awesome for days, then just so-so for weeks, then miserable for a few days, etc. etc. I could give you 3 very different results taken on 3 separate days of the month. When it's awesome, I get the full 2.5 megabits. When it's miserable, I may lucky to get 100kbits.

Some things bore people, other things interest people, but not all people are interested in the same thing. I don't really know why a person who is so bored by a topic would want to participate in it.

Nothing at all happening on digital terrestrial broadcasts in Thailand. None, nada.

I spoke with a producer for the local Thai channels. He said that the local channels have no (zero) plans for switching to digital or HD broadcasts.

Congrats on buying the 40D. It's supposed to be the one to get right now, and I'm saving up for it. One of the advantages of the 40D over previous models is the 14-bit RAW capture (vs 12 bit RAW, and 8-bit JPG), which gives better control over tones, gradients, and color. For most amateurs, shooting JPG would be fine, but for pros or serious enthusiasts who take their pics very seriously, RAW is the only way. Luminous landscape just did a comparison on how much you can do with JPG vs Raw. With the high capacity and low cost of CF cards these days, storage space really isn't an issue. That being said, I also shoot JPG, but my welfare doesn't depend on what I shoot. When I get the 40D, I'll shoot in RAW.

Big problem with the 40D is that it has a new RAW format which a lot of programs don't recognize. Of course there will be updates, but for now there aren't many choices (as already stated above). You could do like what other people in your situation do: use the supplied Canon software to convert the RAWs to TIFF (16-bit) and then edit in your old Photoshop.

I only have about 3 columns of programs, which leaves around 90% of the screen free of icons (it's a 22" screen). I adjusted my taskbar to be double-decker, since I keep around 20-40 programs open at any time, and I don't like "group similar tasks". The reason my desktop is so clean is because I do a lot of things the traditional way... via command prompts and such. I also install only the programs that I actually use, and don't install extras or stuff that does something that another program can do (I don't have winamp, since media player does the job, etc. etc). No document/work folders (except the default) are actually located on my desktop.

There are people who do everything on their desktop, and for those it can get pretty cluttered. I saw one guy who had 90% of his desktop covered with icons, and his system tray had around 20-30 icons.

Normally the touchpad/nipple have the option to be disabled through the bios settings.

Basically you'll get the best results with Canon ink +paper, since they're formulated for each other and will last a long time. Using different inks/paper will make the color shift and affect longevity. Canon inks are pretty cheap to begin with, so I don't think you have any need to use third-party inks, unless you're opening a cheap print shop. As for paper, it really depends on the paper... there are several to choose from.

I assume it depends more on your computer's locale rather than your IP. Determining whereabouts through IP can be fallible. Your computer stores a preference for where you are (which country) and a lot of sites use that information to customize ads/webs/etc. If I'm not mistaken, it's in the regional settings.

Yes, I've used 12" notebooks, and while they're light and ultra portable (and neat), they are not very practical for everyday work. I think that the 13" are a good compromise between the big/heavy 14" and the too-small 12". However, not all brands have 13" notebooks, and the brands that do have a lot are the Japanese ($$$$$) ones, like Fujitsu, Sony, etc. Also, the smaller notebooks will generally not have good specs, and rarely have anything more than onboard graphics.

The Benq I got had similar specs, but a bit higher, and had a better graphics core. Forget which model. Was very stylish.

You don't actually have to remove it. For example in IE, you set it to not use the proxy for local addresses, and set the local addresses to whatever IPs you use in your house (usually 192.168.x.x).

The Mio C220/C520 both have Thai voice capability, and can display maps in Thai (the ones sold in Thailand, that is). I would think it would depend on where you buy it.

The Garmin Nuvi 200 (the lowest spec Garmin) costs around 13,900 baht, while the bigger brother costs 21,500. The Mio C520, OTOH, costs 15,900, and the C220 costs 11k, and both use the SirfStar GPS chip. If you're not stuck up on brand, then the Mio is really a much better value.

The reason you're getting the first point for only 2000 baht is because of the many promotions UBC has to get as many subscribers as possible. The initial cost is normally very high.

You can actually get a second point for a bit less, but not much, via the non-legal channels. I say this because they use a card splitter which you insert your decoder card into and it splits the decoder information into various lines to feed into the various sat boxes. So you'll have to buy a splitter box and another sat box, and the splitter box costs a bit. It would be more economical if you were aiming for several additional points, not just one.

Should be able to go to any decent game store and have it fixed. Look in the department stores.

miniwai, those are pretty good specs. It's got the latest generation CPU (the Core 2 duo), the latest chipset (the 965), and enough RAM. The only stumbling point is the graphics, which is the NB8M-GS, which is the 8400M GS, which is at the lower end of the scale (the 8800 is at the higher end, while the 8600 is middling). Better than an on-board (like the intel 3100), but not that much, and not good enough for a lot of games. However, if you don't plan on using it for games, then it's good.

I can't help but think that I got a Benq with better specs for less about half a year ago. Of course it didn't come with Vista (no OS), but I wouldn't install Vista Home anyways.

Remember that if you're going to be lugging the thing around for a lot, a big consideration is the weight. Most 14" notebooks weigh around 2.1-2.5 KG, which is actually a bit much. Lower down the scale are 13" notebooks, which weigh at 1.6-1.9KG. Even lower are 12" notebooks, but these tend to not come with an optical drive, and have tiny keyboards (and cost quite a bit, too... more for less, no?). After a lot of experience with lugging around notebooks, the only one I'd seriously do constant travel with are 13" notebooks.

The Thais who have reviewed the MIO's sold here (officially distributed by Synnex, BTW) have said that it uses SpeedNavi and ESRI, and say that the local maps are very good. There are some features lacking, such as the ability to import POI's, but for the big (huge) screen and the low price ('bout the same as the lowest spec Garmin), it's a pretty good deal.

There are plenty of non-Thai laptops sold in Thailand every day. And yes, the only thing done is to install XP/Vista (set it to Thai) and put the stickers on. If you don't like the stickers, you can try to find the localized keyboard.

To make it play copied games, you get it chipped, using the "wiikey". You could do it yourself, but you'd need special tools (like a three-pronged screwdriver).

Yes, you can have it chipped in Bangkok in places like MBK/Chinatown. Process usually takes around an hour, costs around 900 baht.

For prices, see:

www.super-rich.com

www.gcorners.com

Celerons Vs Cores: It (like every other spec) depends on how you use your computer. I had the exact same P4 die on me, and could only change to a Celeron (no Pentiums for the socket in stock, and those that were in stock were too expensive). I couldn't use it as my main computer any more, since although it worked, it was way too slow. I do a lot of multimedia, multitasking, and gaming, and the celeron was a dog. A very sick dog.

Same thing goes for my laptops. I (or rather my family) own many, many laptops, from Semprons to Pentium M's to Core 2's. The Semprons are more than good enough for office work (and that's what we use them for), but when I'm editing high-def video, I wouldn't be caught using one. It would take days to render a few minutes of footage.

A reminder: The amount of memory in a graphic card (notebook or otherwise) has much, much less effect on the performance than the model of the graphics chip. Note that you can have a lousy on-board chip that can "increase" it's memory to 200+ megabytes, and a dedicated GPU like the ATI which could have perhaps only 128MB. The ATI would be better, much, much, much better. Therefore, don't look at the amount of graphics memory as a deciding factor. I say this because it's in the psyche of most that more graphics memory=definitely better, no matter what.

The system memory, OTOH, does matter a lot, but is easily and cheaply upgradeable. 1GB costs only around 1k baht, and is worth every satang.

You really can't replace all the important parts... the most important part, the print head, is still the printer's own, and is still the one and only part that clogs up, and the part that costs the most to replace. The ink cartridges themselves are just tanks that hold ink.

I repeat, I think that "professional" is a misnomer. The definition of a "professional" is just a person who does something as his profession or job. Hence, any technician in any of the ink tank shops is a professional, and really, anyone else wouldn't know how to install these tanks anyways. Therefore, any time you go to a shop to get ink tanks added, you're getting a "professional" job.

The R230 is supposed to be *the* one to buy for ink tanks. Yet I've seen them clog up too. But again, and I stress this, YMMV. I'm glad that your system works, but like most things, it may just totally screw up somebody else's life, and therefore I present the flip side of the argument.

Again YMMV.

I cannot tell you the number of times clients have come to me with stories of clogged print heads from external tanks. The printers were not used only for a matter of a few days. This also happened with *brand new* printers. And yes, they were professionally installed (which is really a misnomer, since these shops can't really be professional, since they're voiding the warranty).